How to write an academic book proposal? Here are six steps for thinking about argument, naming comparable books, talking about the organization, and more. My favorite: Use the good crystal today.

Not every faculty member will work with a writing coach. Here are the steps for coaching yourself through planning the work for a scholarly writing project.

A pissant is a small thing that is annoying out of proportion to its size. Dealing with pissants is, therefore, incredibly draining and frustrating. Think of any task that you know to be elaborately bureaucratic but not very consequential.

While the intensity of a challenge of this kind would be difficult to sustain over the long run—for example, it’s a good idea to take days off periodically—challenges work for lots of people because of a particular blend of characteristics:

·      Time limited

·      Concrete

·      “Special time”

·      Accountability (and reflection)

·      Camaraderie

You want to avoid having a teaching statement that’s full of buzzwords and pedagogy-jargon. This is not so much because search committees are full of conservative old fuddy-duddies who hate ungrading, but because it’s hard to remember abstract concepts. Committees end up relying on shorthand that’s very focused on concrete examples. It sounds like, “oh, that’s the candidate who did the cool postcard thing.” Or, “yeah, the guy with the class on the history of popcorn.”

Sifting through the days in my memory, the markers of a July day or the hallmarks of late-June are sadly inconspicuous. A compromise position for those of us doing a bit more work this summer than we might prefer (or, heck, even if we do prefer it), might be to create a list of activities that are special, summer-time specific events and experiences.

A good out-of-office message is a boundary and a filter.

When an academic writer engages with her readers’ reports, part of the challenge she’s facing is the layering of two very different kinds of tasks: one is project management and the other is emotional management.

It can be hard to understand the status and significance of an edited collection. This post offers some cautions and key questions to consider when deciding whether to contribute your scholarly essay to an edited collection.

How should you decide where to submit your academic article? What should a scholar on the tenure track consider when picking a journal for publication?

These are some of the ways I’m supporting writers during the last months of the year: free planning sessions, free cowriting sessions, book proposal editing, developmental editing, faculty coaching.

Thinking about the relationships I want to maintain or cultivate via social media has helped me be selective about platforms and posting.

Reflecting on academic writing goals. An argument for quarterly rather than semester writing goals.

Pick cadences that are meaningful to you and create task groups around them.

Has your planning system changed along with your career? If not, it might be time for your planner to grow up. This post offers some suggestions for thinking about your changing planning needs.

“wouldst thou work deliciously?”

“Did I shave my legs for this?” moments can include completing a PhD, finishing a book, acquiring a tenure-track job, getting tenure, receiving a promotion.